History of Mahjong

The ancient classical game of Mahjong evolved in Shanghai in the mid or late 1800s became widespread in Beijing and Shanghai and in due course gained popularity among American emigrants. It was brought over to the United States in the 1920s.

It became a foundation in building both Jewish American and Chinese American communities in the early 20th Century. The game and its regional alternatives are broadly played throughout South East Asia and Western Countries where it is well-liked and sought after. It has gained worldwide popularity and is a renowned tile-based game played in Asia for over 300 years. Since gamblers play it for centuries, it is played at Casinos all over the world. 

Mahjong is a classic game that has progressed, advanced into various variations around the world, and has grown since then. Four players commonly play it with a set of one hundred and forty four tiles based on Chinese Symbols and Characters even though some regional variations add unique tiles or omit some.

There are numerous regional variations of the rules, including relatively different standards for legal winning hands, rating system, and private table rules that differentiate individual variations for different Mahjong styles. Many variations such as Chinese Classical Mahjong, Hong Kong Mahjong, Sichuan Mahjong, Shenyang Mahjong, Japanese Mahjong, Singapore/Malaysian Mahjong, American Mahjong, Thai Mahjong, Filipino Mahjong, Korean Mahjong differ by scoring as they have different complicated scoring systems.

Mahjong tiles are noticeable and hold prominence for their flowers that represent four Confucian plants: Bamboo, Chrysanthemum, the Orchid, and Plum who are known to be the "Four Gentleman of China." 

Though Mahjong is hard to master, it is easy to learn the basics, and it is more or less similar to the Western game Rummy. The goal of Mahjong is to accumulate a winning hand made up of sets of two, three, or four tiles, which score a minimum number of predetermined points using 14 tiles.

It is a tile-based game that requires adaptive strategy, Tactics, Observation, and sharp presence of mind, clarity in the plan of attack to win. Since the game relies on memory skills, it has helped in improving the general brain health in senior citizens and also helps with dementia and cognitive impairment. Mahjong has helped in producing constructive results in the cognitive performance of those affected with dementia.

To adapt proper tactics, one has to play Mahjong regularly. It has its significance in Places like China and Japan for its strong cultural ties, and this game has grown to epitomize peace and friendship. This game has been the foundation for cultural interactions and exchanges between the United States and China in the 20th Century. It serves the purpose of inviting someone to play the game tantamount with friendship to create a bond as well as provide the basis of social interactions among different communities. 

Mahjong became a basis for developing social networks and offered people of diverse backgrounds to play together, creating a shared heritage and connection. It laid a strong foundation for interaction with objects and ideas in a global world and helpful in building social connectivity. Of late, the game has gained eminence in online entertainment.